Water saver flush valve



* 9 P. P. CHIAPPETTA 3,365,730

WATER SAVER FLUSH VALVE Filed Dec. 30, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVE'VTUR.

Pt: 75? P CAVAPPfT/JQ United States Patent This invention relates toflush toilets of the type having a gravity tank from which water flowsfor flushing the toilet.

The typical toilet tank is made with suflicient capacity to meet maximumflushing requirements and in standard practice, generally may containsix to eight gallons of water. In many instances, it is possible toconduct the flushing operation with the use of less water. Variousattempts have been made to utilize fractional quantities of water in thetank, however, these methods involve expensive and complicatedmechanisms which do not provide satisfactory results.

With the general increase of population in certain metropolitan areas,and the resultant lowering of the water table in those areas, it hasbecome increasingly more important to conserve water. It is, of course,desirable to accomplish this, if possible, without inconvenience to theinhabitants of these areas. The present invention is embodied in anapparatus which may be installed quickly and easily in the tank of astandard water closet or may be included as part of the equipment uponthe initial installation.

Accordingly, it is an important object of my invention to provide awater saver flush valve which will effect the saving of substantialamounts of water used in the flushing of toilets without reducing theefiiciency of the toilet unit.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved watersaver device which is comprised of relatively few parts which are soconstructed and arranged that they will give maximum efliciency andlength of service.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improveddevice which may be attached to the conventional buoyant outlet valvecontrolling the flow of water from the flush tank to the toilet bowlwithout altering the structure of the conventional flush tank unit.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide animproved water saver device wherein the normal positioning of theflushing handle will permit the discharge of substantially all of thewater from the flush tank into the toilet bowl for flushing and when theflushing handle is drawn to a position away from the normal position,will permit'the discharge of only a portion of the water from the flushtank into the toilet bowl.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a flush ball valvewhich permits water to enter and air to exit thereby allowing the flushball valve to reseat from its up position independently of the waterlevel in the flush tank.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of a conventional toilet tank with thefront wall broken away and showing the tank full with the outlet valveclosed;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view taken substantially along the line IIII ofFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view of the water saver flush valveemploying the teachings of the instant invention;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View showing anotherembodiment of the invention; and

FIGURE 5 is another fragmentary vertical sectional view showing a stillfurther embodiment of the invention.

As shown on the drawings:

Referring to FIGURE 1, there is shown a conventional toilet tank 10having a supply pipe indicated at 15 but not shown in further detail asit and its related valve are conventional. The supply pipe valve iscontrolled in the usual manner by a float 5 carried by the leveroperating arm 6.

The outlet port 14 leading to the toilet is likewise conventional andincludes the valve seat 13 and the connected overflow pipe 9. A hollowrubber ball valve 11 normally closes pipe 14 during periods of non-use.The hollow rubber ball valve 11 is provided with a tube 11a at thebottom thereof providing direct connection with outlet pipe 14. The ballvalve is actuated in a conventional manner by means of the vertical stem8, stem guide '7, upper link 4 and valve lever 3.

The mechanism that enables this invention to cause additional dischargeof a fractional part of the tank of water will now be described in moredetail by reference to the various figures in which like parts have beengiven the same number.

Commencing with the operating handle 2, it will be seen that there is ashaft 25 fixed thereto, supported at the inner face of the tank inconventional manner by a nut 26. Afiixed to the inner face of the tankis a housing 24 which has at its inner end, means providing threadingengagement with a threaded member 22. The threaded member 22 is providedwith a centrally disposed passage 23 which is connected to needle valve16. The needle valve is connected by flexible hose 12 through coupling12a to the hollow rubber ball valve 11.

On shaft 25 there is provided a sleeve 19 with a clamping screw 21. Asleeve 1% is directly connected with valve lever 3, or it may beconstructed as a single unit. Shaft 25, at a position further in fromsleeve 19 is provided with an annular recessed groove 13 and at itsinnermost end with plug 17. Along the inner face of the inner wall ofhousing 24, facing the flushing handle, there is provided lock means 18awhich is so positioned as to cooperate with the annular groove 18 andthus hold shaft 25 at an in position, as shown by the phantom lines inFIGURE 3.

Centrally disposed passage 23 is connected by means of a rigid tube toneedle valve 16 which is conventional and capable of adjusting theorifice of said tube. Needle valve 16 is also connected to flexible hose12 which may be made of any material that is impervious to water andwill not unduly stiffen in water at normal room temperatures. Flexiblehose 12. is connected to the hollow rubber ball valve 11 by means ofcoupling 12a, which is impervious to water and prevents water fromentering valve 11. Hollow rubber ball valve 11 is provided with tube 11ahaving an opening at the bottom thereof which is of ample size to permitquick entrance of water into the hollow rubber ball valve. It will beunderstood, of course, that tube may be replaced by any suitable meanspermitting quick entrance of water in valve 11.

The operation of the structure of the invention is as follows:

When it is desired to flush the tank completely, the user turns handle2, in its normal position, as shown in the phantom lines at FIGURE 3 ina counterclockwise direction. On so doing, lever 3 will be raised. Thisresults in lifting valve 11 a sufficient distance above valve seat 13 sothat the outward flow of water through pipe 14 will not be able toovercome the tendency of the air filled valve 11 to raise to a limitedposition against guide 7. Thus, the valve is completely open and thewater in the tank runs out in the normal manner until the level drops toa point close enough to valve seat 13 to permit reseating of valve 11which has descended with the water level during the last part of thetank discharge. It will be noticed that with the handle 2 in at the inposition, i.e., not pulled out, plug 17 will efiiciently plug orifice 23thereby making it airtight, causing hollow ball valve 11 to retain itsair and thereby not permitting any water to enter through tube 11a. Assoon as valve 11 has reseated, further discharge is prevented. Float isin down position and has opened the water valve attached thereto, sorefilling of the tank at once commences, to prepare for the nextflushing.

In the operation just described, it will be noted that i it issubstantially similar to the normal operation as has heretofore beenknown. Thus, as soon as the valve has been completely opened with valve11 rising to the position limited by guide '7, the operator may releasehandle 2 which permits lever 3 to return immediately to its normaldownmost position, as indicated in FIGURE 1, with the upper link 4sliding downwardly in relation to stem 8 which remains at the latestposition until the water level has descended far enough to take valve 11downwardly with it'to close pipe 14.

When it is desired to use only a fraction of a tankful of water for theflushing operation, the user pulls the handle 2 away from tank 10, asshown in the solid lines of FIGURE 3 and moves the handlecounterclockwise. This handle movement, with reference now to FIGURE 3,results in the plug 17 disengaging from orifice 23 and subsequentlycausing valve lever 3 to be raised. Upward movement of lever 3 causescorresponding upward movement of upper link 4 and vertical stem 8 andvalve 11.

This results in lifting valve 11 a sufiicient distance above valve seat13 so that the outward fiow of water through pipe 14 will not be able toovercome a tendency of the air-filled valve 11 to rise to a limitedposition against guide 7. Thus, as valve 11 attains its raised position,Water will enter it through tube 11a thereby displacing the air in valve11 which will exit through hollow tube 12 and needle valve 16 at orifice23. Thus valve 11 will quickly become filled with water, thereby losingits buoyancy and quickly descending to valve seat 13, thus preventingfurther discharge. Water will only enter valve 11 when air is escapingfrom the interior thereof and once a substantial portion of the air hasbeen displaced, the water present in valve ll will immediately egressthrough tube 11a into outlet pipe 14.

Water is considered to have a specific gravity of unity at any giventemperature, that is it is normally considered as a standard in themeasurement and specific gravity of other liquids or solids. Theoperation of the present invention provides for increasing the specificgravity of valve 11 to more than unity causing the valve 11 to reseatindependently of the water level in the toilet tank.

As soon as valve 11 has reseated, further discharge is prevented. Float5 is in its down position and opens the water valve attached thereto sorefilling of the tank commences at once to prepare for the nextflushing. By enlarging or diminishing the orifice 23, or adjustingneedle valve 16 so as to effect greater or smaller orifice therefrom, itis possible to control the rate of discharge of the air in valve 11 andthereby control the rate of reseating of valve 11 after the flushingoperation commences. Thus, by having orifice '23 of suitable size, thetime that will elapse before valve 11 is reseated can be controlled.This time of reseating can inrturn be related to the quantity of waterand the rate of discharge into pipe 14. In the preferred adjustment ofthe mechanism the rate of air discharge will permit reseating valve 11when. approximately one-half of the tankful of water has beendischarged.

FIGURE 4 illustrates another embodiment of the invention. Shaft isprovided with a centrally disposed bore 28a at its innermost end. Thismay be provided by drilling or other suitable meansBore 28a is providedwith an end plug 281) which substantially provides an airtight plug forbore 23a. Shaft 25 if further provided with two vertical bores 27, and27a connecting the exterior 4 surface of the shaft 25 to the centralbore 28a. Vertical bore 27 is also provided with a rigid tube having adiameter matching that of vertical bore 27, which is connected toflexible tube 12.

Shaft 25, at a point beyond vertical bore 27 but prior to vertical bore27a is provided with annular groove housing O-ring 17b and at a pointbeyond vertical bore 270 there is provided another annular groovehousing O-ring 17a. Housing 24 is constructed so as to allow sleeve 19,with clamping screw 21 to directly contactshaft'25. Housing 24 isprovided with rectangular bottomed recess 18 which allows sleeve 19 tomove with shaft 25 as it is moved between its in and out positions.Housing 24 is generally constructed so as to conform to the shape ofshaft 25 and be in close working relation with O-rings 17a and 17 1).Housing 24 is further provided with an orifice 23. Orifice 23 is of suchsize and positioned in such a manner as to allow sleeve 19 to fittherein and move to the extent permitted by rectangular recess 18 whichextent coincides with the in position of shaft 25. The out position ofshaft 25 is determined .by the'outer end of orifice 23, the one nearestto nut 26. Housing 24 is also provided with an additional orifice 23::which is positioned between O-ring 17b and vertical bore 27a, which areon the shaft Thus when shaft 25 is at its in position sleeve 19 abutsrectangular recess 18 at its inner wall and O-ring 17b is beyond orifice23a.

The operation of this embodiment of the invention is as follows: When itis desired to flush the tank completely, the user allows the handle toremain in its normal position, i.e., the in position,-shown by thephantom lines in FIG- URE 4, and turns handle 2 in a counterclockwisedirection. Upon so doing, lever 3 will be raised, thereby raising valve11 and allowing full discharge of the tank as previously described inconnection with FIGURE 3. It will be noted that when the flush handle 2is in the normal position, the air from valve 11 cannot pass throughorifice 23a through flexible member 12 because O-ring'17b is now beyondorifice 23a and the air is now trapped in horizontal bore 28a and thespace between O- rings 17a and 17b and the flushing operation will beconventional.

When it is desired to use only a fraction of a tankful of water in theflushing operation, using the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 4, theuser withdraws handle 2 to the position indicated in solid lines inFIGURE 4 and moves the handle 2 counterclockwise. On so doing, lever 3,and valve ball 11 will be raised permitting the discharge of water fromthe tank. However, at this position the 'air trapped in valve 11 iscapable of escaping through flexible tube 12 into passage means 28a andout of orifice 23a. Thus, it will be noted that when flush handle 2 ispulled out, orifice 23a is positioned between O-rings 17a and 17b andthus permits the air to escape. In other respects, this flushingoperation is identical to that described in conjunction with thefractional flushing operation of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 illustrates a still further embodiment of my invention. It willbe noted that valve 11 is provided with a 7 URES 1 and 3, provides theadditional function of'serving scribed, and accordingly, all suitablemodifications and equivalents which do not constitute departure from theas a hollow member for the discharge of air from valve 11.

It will be noticed that with this arrangement, since the spirit andscope of the invention are intended as part of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A valve construction for use in a toilet flush tank including anoutlet port having a valve seat and a conventional valve flush actuatingmeans, said conventional valve flush actuating means being arcuately andaxially movable, a flush valve assembly movably attached to said valveactuating means, said valve assembly comprising a hollow valve bodyengageable with said valve seat to seal said outlet port, passage meansconnecting said hollow valve body with said valve actuating meansselectively permitting release of air from said valve body in accordancewith the axial movement of said valve flush actuating means, whereby thearcuate movement of the valve actuating means raises the valve assemblyto unseat the valve body from the valve seat allowing water tosubstantially simultaneously discharge from the outlet port and theaxial movement of the valve actuating means allows air to enter thevalve body allowing the valve body to reseat independently of the waterlevel in the toilet flush tank.

2. A valve construction according to claim 1 wherein the passage meansis composed of a hollow guide stem attached to said hollow valve bodyand a flexible passage means attached to said hollow guide stem and thevalve actuating means.

3. In a tank type toilet flushing mechanism, the combination comprisinga trigger means arcuately movable for flushing and axially movable forventing, a water outlet port in the tank, a floating ball valve forseating over said port and permitting water discharge when raised bysaid trigger means, vent means connecting said ball valve with saidtrigger means for allowing substantially simultaneous water dischargefrom said port and egress into said ball valve in response to the axialmovement of said trigger means.

4. A valve construction for use in a toilet flush tank comprising ahandle movable between in and out positions and arcuately exterior tosaid tank, a shaft connected to said handle, said shaft extendingthrough the tank wall and adapted to be rocked via said handle, aflushing lever attached to said shaft, a hollow valve body movablebetween up and down positions, said hollow valve body, in its downposition, being engageable with the valve seat of the outlet port ofsaid tank to seat therein, means connecting said lever to said hollowvalve body, a metering orifice above the water level of the flush tankin relatively close proximity to said shaft, a flexible hollow passagemeans connecting said hollow valve body with said metering orifice, asupport housing for said metering orifice attached to the interior tankwall and having said shaft passing thereinto, a plug member at the endof said shaft corresponding in diameter to said metering orifice,whereby said lever raises in response to said arcuate movement of thehandle raising said connecting means and said hollow valve body,unseating said valve body upwardly from said valve seat of the outletport and while said handle is at the out position, permitting water tosimultaneously discharge from the outlet port and enter said hollowvalve body causing said hollow valve body to reseat independently of thewater level in said tank.

5. A valve construction for use in a toilet flush tank including anoutlet port having a valve seat and conventional valve flush actuatingmeans, said conventional valve flush actuating means being adapted tomove axially and arcuateiy, a flush valve assembly comprising a hollowvalve body movable between up and down positions, said hollow valvebody, in its down position, being engageable with said valve seat toseat therein, said hollow valve body provided with a passage meanscooperatively associated with said outlet port whereby said hollow valvebody, in its down position, is in constant communication with saidoutlet port, an adjustable orifice above the water level of the toiletflush tank in working relationship with said valve flush actuatingmeans, a flexible tube member connecting said hollow valve body withsaid adjustable orifice above the water level of said toilet flush tank,a stem operatively connected to said actuating means and to said hollowvalve body whereby said hollow valve body is unseated upwardly from saidvalve seat, thereby allowing water to simultaneously discharge from theoutlet port and enter said passage means of said hollow valve bodydisplacing the air therein, said air exiting at a controlled ratethrough said flexible tube member at said adjustable orifice therebyallowing said hollow valve body to reseat independently of the waterlevel in said tank.

6. A valve construction for use in a toilet flush tank comprising ahandle movable between in and out positions and arcuately exterior tosaid tank, a shaft connected to said handle and rocked thereby,extending through the tank wall, a flushing lever attached to saidshaft, a hollow valve body movable between up and down positions, saidhollow valve body, in its down position, being engageable with the valveseat of the outlet port of said tank to seat therein, means connectingsaid lever to said hollow valve body, a metering orifice above the waterlevel of said tank in relatively close proximity to said shaft, aflexible hollow passage means connecting said hollow valve body withsaid metering orifice, a support housing for said metering orificeattached to the interior tank wall and having said shaft passingthereinto, a plug member at the end of said shaft corresponding indiameter to said metering orifice, said shaft having a locking mechanismengageable with said handle at its in position, thus preventing saidplug member from disengaging from said orifice, whereby said leverraises in response to said arcuate movement of the handle, raising saidconnecting means and hollow valve body, unseating said valve bodyupwardly from said valve seat of the outlet port, permitting water todischarge from the outlet port and retaining the air within the hollowvalve body causing said hollow valve body to reseat in accordance withthe water level in said tank.

7. A valve construction for use in a toilet flush tank comprising ahandle movable between in and out positions, exterior to said tank, ashaft connected to said handle and rocked thereby, extending through thetank wall, a flushing lever attached to said shaft, a hollow valve bodymovable between up and down positions, said hollow valve body, in itsdown position, being engageable with the valve seat of the outlet portof said tank to seat therein, means connecting said lever to said hollowvalve body, a metering orifice above the water level of said tank, aflexible hollow passage means connecting said hollow valve body withsaid metering orifice, a support housing for said metering orificeattached to the interior tank wall and having said shaft passingthereinto, a plug member at the end of said shaft corresponding indiameter to said metering orifice, said shaft having a looking mechanismengageable with said handle at its in position, thus preventing saidplug member from disengaging from said orifice, whereby said leverraises in response to said handle, raising said connecting means andhollow valve body, unseating said valve body upwardly from said valveseat of the outlet port, permitting water to discharge from the outletport and depending upon the axial position of the handle allowing thehollow valve body to reseat independently of and dependently on thewater level of said tank.

8. A valve construction for use in a toilet flush tank comprising, anoutlet port having a valve seat thereon, a handle movable between in andout positions and in arcuate movements, exterior to said tank, a shaftcon nected to said handle and extending through the tank wall, a hollowvalve body movable between up and down positions, said hollow valve bodyin its down position being engageable with said valve seat to seattherein, a flushing lever attached to said shaft, means connecting saidlever to said hollow valve body, a metering orifice above the waterlevel of said tank, a passage means provided in said shaft, two sealingrings mounted on said shaft having one end of said passage meanstherebetween, a flexible passage means connecting the other end of saidpassage means with said hollow valve body, a support housing for saidshaft attached to the interior tank wall and in working relationshipwith said sealing rings providing an airtight seal thereby, an orificein working relationship with said passage means positioned on saidsupport housing, said orifice being so positioned as to be blocked byone of said sealing rings when said handle it at its in position, a slotin said support housing being associated with said flexible passagemeans and said passage means, whereby said flushing lever raises inresponse to the arcuate movement of the flushing handle, raising saidconnecting means and hollow valve body thereby unseating said hollowvalve body upwardly from said valve seat of the outlet port and, inaccordance with the axial References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS2,214,439 9/ 1940 Robertson 4- 56 2,741,776 4/ 1956 Christe et a1. 4572,869,141 1/1959 Koch et al 4-56 2,883,675 4/1959 Hartman 457 LAVERNE D.GEIGER, Primary Examiner. HENRY K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner.

1. A VALVE CONSTRUCTION FOR USE IN A TOILET FLUSH TANK INCLUDING ANOUTLET PORT HAVING A VALVE SEAT AND A CONVENTIONAL VALVE FLUSH ACTUATINGMEANS, SAID CONVENTIONAL VALVE FLUSH ACTUATING MEANS BEING ARCUATELY ANDAXIALLY MOVABLE, A FLUSH VALVE ASSEMBLY MOVABLY ATTACHED TO SAID VALVEACTUATING MEANS, SAID VALVE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A HOLLOW VALVE BODYENGAGEABLE WITH SAID VALVE SEAT TO SEAL SAID OUTLET PORT, PASSAGE MEANSCONNECTING SAID HOLLOW VALVE BODY WITH SAID VALVE ACTUATING MEANSSELECTIVELY PERMITTING RELEASE OF AIR FROM SAID VALVE BODY IN ACCORDANCEWITH THE AXIAL MOVEMENT OF SAID VALVE FLUSH ACTUATING MEANS, WHEREBY THEARCUATE MOVEMENT OF THE VALVE ACTUATING MEANS RAISES THE VLAVE ASSEMBLYTO UNSEAT THE VALVE BODY FROM THE VALVE SEAT ALLOWING WATER TOSUBSTANTIALLY SIMULTANEOUSLY DISCHARGE FROM THE OUTLET PORT AND THEAXIAL MOVEMENT OF THE VALVE ACTUATING MEANS ALLOWS AIR TO ENTER THEVALVE BODY ALLOWING THE VALVE BODY TO RESEAT INDEPENDENTLY OF THE WATERLEVEL IN THE TOILET FLUSH TANK.